husband
Americannoun
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husbands
plural
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a married man, especially when considered in relation to his partner in marriage.
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British. a manager.
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Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.
verb (used with object)
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husbands,
present (3rd person singular)
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husbanded,
past participle, past
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husbanding
present participle
noun
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a woman's partner in marriage
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archaic
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a manager of an estate
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a frugal person
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verb
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to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily
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archaic
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(tr) to find a husband for
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(of a woman) to marry (a man)
-
-
obsolete (tr) to till (the soil)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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husbandsimple
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husbandssimple
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have husbandedperfect
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has husbandedperfect
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am husbandingprogressive
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are husbandingprogressive
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is husbandingprogressive
-
have been husbandingperfect progressive
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has been husbandingperfect progressive
Past
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husbandedsimple
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had husbandedperfect
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was husbandingprogressive
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were husbandingprogressive
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had been husbandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of husband
before 1000; Middle English husband ( e ), Old English hūsbonda master of the house < Old Norse hūsbōndi, equivalent to hūs house + bōndi ( bō-, variant of bū- dwell ( see boor) + -nd present participle suffix + -i inflectional ending)
Explanation
A husband is a married man. Your grandfather might joke that he and your grandmother have been husband and wife for so long because she has the patience of a saint and he is deaf as a post. The word husband comes from the Old Norse hūsbōndi, where hūs meant house and bōndi meant dweller. As a verb, husband means to conserve resources and use them frugally. Because of the flooding in the area, roads are cut off and everyone is being asked to husband their supplies. This conservation of resources sense of husband also occurs in the related noun husbandry.
Vocabulary lists containing husband
The Taming of the Shrew
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Units 2–3
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"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Induction
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She called in to Thursday’s show to congratulate her husband.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Islander Katina Jones, who lives with her husband, said they waited as long as they could before turning the heating on.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
As her husband, Sang-woo—who comes from money and is now a businessman, often dealmaking in genteel English over the phone—Mr. Zo embodies an entitlement so deeply instilled that it almost doesn’t register.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It described her daughters’ arrivals and noted that her husband had continued to appear outside the home.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Anybody who was husband fodder for a country gal like Tansy would have to stand up to butchering day.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
"About 60% of husbands and wives in the sample said they exercised, but only about a third exercised together," Yorgason said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Abdullahi spoke about growing up Muslim and the tradition of women showing respect for their husbands and male family members by cooking for them and serving them first.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
The two female characters, initially wary of each other, are both on a hiatus from their husbands, and the German tourist eventually draws big crowds by performing magic tricks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
"Because of the people who've gone to fight and the families left behind with sons, husbands, children and grandchildren there. But these elections can't influence what will happen."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Some wanted him to pray for husbands and sons stationed at the borders of the country.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
He married Paula Schwartz in 1983, and with her he tenderly husbanded the land, planting an effusion of flora.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2019
After his parents divorced, Folkert’s mom did yard work and landscaping and cleaned houses to earn money — which she husbanded with care.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2018
Tollett has not only husbanded the landscape; he has branded it.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 10, 2017
Others husbanded their deutschemarks like farmers girding against unforeseen misfortune.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2014
Wang Lung allowed nothing to be bought and sold after the winter came except what he said, and he husbanded carefully all that they had.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
The glimpse reminded voters that Davis, who was husbanding his resources for a late advertising push, was still in the race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
He lacks a strategy for husbanding his domestic political capital, without which he will be remembered mainly as an interruption.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Allies allow you to project power while husbanding your own resources.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2025
"The greater risk environment for financials leads to husbanding of capital and risk-taking, less and more conservative investing and lending, and inevitably, lower growth," said Blankfein, who also served as Goldman's chairman, told Reuters.
From Reuters ● Mar. 20, 2023
Aragorn let them drift with the stream as they wished, husbanding their strength against weariness to come.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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